Coming down an obscure side road off Mattapan’s River Street, you might think it would be hard to find the “pan yard” where the storied Branches Steel Orchestra practice several times a week to hone their steel band sound. But not if you are following the sounds of a steel pan version of Abba’s “Dancing Queen” being melodically pounded out by a dozen or more members of the multi-generational group.

Follow the music through the neighborhood, and you will run into the two-car garage of Branches founder and long-time director Carl Smith, where dozens of steel pans are set up alongside other percussion instruments – not to mention the several pans tossed to the side for tuning or adjustments. It is the very definition of what those in the craft call a “pan yard,” or the place where a steel band stores instruments and rehearses.

First known as “Roots” as far back as 1978, Smith and his wife, Joyce Spencer Smith, noted that the band became Branches Steel Orchestra in 1983. They focus primarily on youth in the community and count hundreds of alums who routinely return to the pan yard on hot summer nights for a tune up.

“Branches is the longest performing steel band in the United States,” said Smith. “No band has practiced Trinidadian style carnival longer than Branches up to this date.”

Of Trinidadian descent, Smith said they take the music very seriously, adding that while Carnival and the culture around it have spread worldwide, the roots are uniquely ‘Trini.’ Branches has a long history in Boston, having prevailed numerous times in the former Steel Band Panorama competition at White Stadium. The band has also played for presidents, governors, mayors, at weddings, in parades, and normally in the Boston Carnival – though not this year.

Above, Branches Director Carl Smith leads the band at their “pan yard” rehearsal space off River Street earlier this month. Seth Daniel photo

“In the old days young people didn’t have social media or phones so their parents would give them a choice – either stay and do work at the house or go to the pan yard,” said Smith. “They didn’t want to stay home and work, so you found them here at the pan yard. That’s been going on now for more than 30 years…I would say 95 percent or more go on to college. My dentist was a former member of the band.”

Music director Justin Petty, a professor at Roxbury Community College and a long-time steel band performer, began with Branches in 1997 when the pan yard was still on Harvard Street in Dorchester. He said Branches is unique because they entertain on the stage, and also play quality arrangements that challenge old views of steel pan music.

“When people talk about steel drums, the first thing they think is that it’s archaic,” he said. “They don’t know that versatility of the instrument. We can play Michael Jackson and we can play Beethoven’s Serenade in D. The players are also entertainers. You can’t just stand behind the drum like someone forced you to be there; our players don’t do that. You have to entertain so that others can be entertained.”

The young people in Branches range from age 8 to age 19. Some are new to the music, while others are legacy members who have family that played in the past.

“My aunt knows Mr. Carl and our families are basically one big family,” said Nigel Driggs, the captain of the band who attends Snowden International High School. “She dragged me out and I keep coming and I like it, too. I enjoy the music. It’s a very different instrument and you can play melody with others while playing the drums, too.”

Thora Henry, 16, said she joined the band a few years ago with her triplet brother and sister. Her family had no association with Branches, but her mother wanted the kids to experience Trinidadian culture.

“I do love the band, but mostly I feel like it has brought me closer to my culture because I am immersed in it when I come here,” she said. “I love the fact this is music in groups. It’s another language, another way for us to communicate with each other, but not using words.”

Dorchester’s Kendyl Black, 11, said she began playing two years ago and plans to continue for years to come. “I really like to learn about the steel drums, and I want to play as long as I can,” she said.

Then there are adults in the band, who previously had played with their kids, but returned as they got older and had more time. David Williamson played with the band for 12 years but left to focus on family and work.

“I missed it a lot,” he said. “I had to take care of my kids and my business as a lawyer, but I always missed it and now I have time and so I’m going to get back into it again.”

That was also the case for Peter Malagodi, who lives a short distance from the pan yard and was drawn back in after the pandemic eased.
“Carl has a way of pulling people into his universe,” he said. “He started up the band after Covid and pulled me back in…It’s just amazing how this band has succeeded and persevered over 40 years. When you spend enough time in it though, you realize why.”

From left, Kelsey Levy, Kendyl Black, and Thora Henry of Branches Steel Orchestra rehearse a steel drum version of ‘The Sound of Silence’ earlier this month, shortly after performing for Mayor Michelle Wu at an event on City Hall Plaza. Photo by Seth Daniel

One Friday night during a rehearsal this month at the pan yard, the band was hot off their performance at Boston’s City Hall Plaza and working on arrangements of the “Sound of Silence” and some Jackson 5 tunes. The melodies, though on steel drums, couldn’t be mistaken. Though Smith and Petty heard a lot of things that needed correcting, which they noted to one another while being interviewed, they were at the same time proud of the young people for carrying on the tradition and using it to find success.

“As long as we have the young people, we keep things fresh,” Smith said. “I tell these young people all the time, ‘Your success if my reward.’ We’re all volunteers here. I only want to see them succeed in music and in life.”

Branches Steel Orchestra is sponsored by T&T Steel, Regis Steel Co., and David McDonald Design and Construction. Their family day performance will be held at Franklin Park this year on Sept. 18.